Comparison of self-reported lifetime concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries among adults.
Jill Daugherty, Kelly Sarmiento, Matthew Breiding
PMID 36760062WHAT IT FOUND
Asking adults about 'concussions' yielded significantly higher lifetime prevalence reports (25.5%) than asking about 'mild traumatic brain injuries' (17.2%).
Use 'concussion' in screening to avoid undercounting, as the public may view mTBI as a more severe injury.
Key findings
0125.5% of respondents reported a lifetime concussion when asked using that term, compared to 17.2% who reported a mild traumatic brain injury when asked using that term.
0291.1% of those asked about concussions reported a diagnosis, compared to 69.9% of those asked about mild traumatic brain injuries.
03Mechanism of injury and location of injury did not differ significantly between those asked about concussions and those asked about mild traumatic brain injuries.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study relied on self-report, which is subject to recall bias, especially for injuries that occurred many years ago. The survey questions used to identify concussions and mTBIs have not been validated, and affirmative responses were not confirmed by independent medical records. While weighted to be nationally representative, the web-based panel may not fully represent the entire U.S. adult population.
Declared interests
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the injuries themselves were different in severity or nature. The mechanism and location of injury were the same in both groups, suggesting the difference in reporting is due to the terminology used, not a difference in the underlying condition.